bob.

it begins....


cop shoot cop formed in 1987 in New York City...originally a trio consisting of Tod A (Bass, vocals), David Ouimet (keyboards,sampler) and Phil Puleo (percussion).....Jack natz later joined as another Bass player and Ouimet was replaced with Jim Coleman on samplers....and Steve McMillen was added for their final release (Release) as their only guitar player

cop $hoot cop released four proper albums, six Eps, and four singles in their 9 year career....all of their albums are very much worth looking into....and honestly were extremely hard to find....until the internet came....still these album are highly collectable and very much out of print....their first single "Piece man" came splattered with real pigs blood!

there seems to be some question about the origin of their name....as to whether it has to do with cops killing each other....or (and what i prefer) the complete redundant behavior of a junkie....cop(drugs) shoot(drugs) cop(drugs).....

i would be willing its a little from a and b....but from what i can tell no one from the band has ever really stated exactly what their name is all about

for all but one album (their last) they did not have guitar....but rather a high end and a low end bass....actually the album i'm going to review....their debut full length Consumer Revolt is said to be the only rock album in the history of music to consist of two bass players, two samplers, and one percussionist (i saw that because he mainly banged on found objects)....i can honestly saw that only this band could pull that off this good....and although i do very much enjoy their last album....it really is nothing compared to the others and is more like a typical 90s alt rock band with witty lyrics....and lyrics is something that really stands out with this band....dark humor, sarcasm and the typical NYC attitude.....Tod A is an amazing writer....which in my opinion he carried over to his next band Firewater


first and foremost out all the albums i plan on reviewing in this thread....this album is the closest to an "industrial" sound...probably due to the insane drumming (often on what sounds like sheet metal and or shopping carts) and the extensive use of samplers.....still this is noise rock at its best....

right from the get go you can tell that this album is unique.....the bass playing is unlike anything i've ever heard and the drumming is ordered and chaotic at the same time and Tod's feverish vocal ramblings are just perfect....by the time She's Like A Shoot (a wonderful love song comparing a woman to heroin) starts you realize that you've been transferred into the filthy streets of NYC and are now experiencing all those things mommy and daddy tried to shelter you from....its the next track that does it for me.....Waiting For The Punchline is a perfect example of falling into a misanthropic madness.....both lyrically and musically.....seriously by the end of the song....and the amazingly great lyric "when insomnia is just another word for to much on the mind"....tension could be cut with a knife


next is the equally disturbing all sample song Disconnected 666....which is in all honestly the first Cop Shoot Cop song i had ever heard....having seen it on a 19 generation vhs copy of Richard Kern's short films....the short film is amazing


and straight into the pounding, angry Smash Retro....a wonderful song about letting the past just die (specifically the hippie movement)....next up is the Burn Your Bridges....which once again takes you down a loathing trip into despair......seriously great example of the amazing drumming....and you can see influence from other bands that were around at the time specifically Foetus and maybe a bit of Swans.....Consume is another interesting all sample "message".....Fire in The Hole sounds as much like Neubauten at their craziest as it does a thundering noise rock song....the percussion is just amazing on this track....and really helps along the disgusted lyrics...then comes my favorite track on this album....and probably my favorite Cop Shoot Cop song....and the title of this thread....Pity The Bastard.....just pounding like a hammer to your head....and almost psychotic horror moments.....this is a prime example of just what this band is capable of.....the jarring bass mixed with intense nonsensical percussion....and Tod's insane man ramblings....almost as if he were a crazed schizophrenic yelling back at the voices....just superb
and straight into Down Come The Mickey....which is in all honesty the track that closed this album for me as being the "essential" cop shoot cop album.....Hurt Me Baby is simply their take on the Culture Club hit....and System Test sounds more like a broken industrial machine that has gone mad and has been unleashed on the city.....the albunms ends with the surprisingly groovy Eggs For Rib....an almost fun song and truly fitting end to such a despondent album

hope you check this one out....there really is nothing that sounds like this album

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